Those Who Wait
by EmmaJ1996
Summary: For Lizzi. With a difficult case on their hands, can it get any worse? Well, Harry's having dating problems, and that's pretty damn close.


**Those Who Wait**

**For the amazing Lizzi - I'm so sorry this is late. I honestly did not anticipate being away from a computer for so long, and I didn't have the sense to upload it to Document Manager beforehand, so I couldn't even upload it from my phone :(**

**Once again, huge apologies and big hugs. Belated Happy Birthday - hope you had an amazing day, darling. **

* * *

"Well, you can't presume it's the sister simply because she doesn't have an alibi," Nikki sighed exasperatedly, rubbing her temples.

"Wrong. That's exactly the reason I can presume it's the sister," DCI Jenkins countered. Jenkins, it was safe to admit, was by far the most infuriatingly obnoxious police officer Nikki and Leo had dealt with for a considerable length of time.

"And what would the motive be? For randomly killing her own sister?" Nikki asked.

"Off the top of my head, jealousy."

"Jealous? The privately educated A* student, jealous of her drug addicted little sister?" Nikki scoffed, folding her arms.

"Okay, so it's implausible. There could be other issues we haven't touched on yet," sighed Jenkins, leaning back onto Leo's filing cabinet.

"Either way, you can't prove motive. Cause of death, maybe, but not motive. The how, not the why. Ergo, innocent until proven guilty,"Nikki smiled tightly, believing she had made a breakthrough.

"Ah-ah," Jenkins tutted, "Wrong again. Guilty until proven innocent," he smiled smugly.

"Well, if I remember correctly, Inspector, home office pathologist was not remotely near your job description," Nikki warned, stepping close to him, thankful that her heeled boots gave her more height, and therefore, she wasn't having to look up at Jenkins.

"And if I remember correctly, Doctor Alexander, defence lawyer was not remotely near yours," he said, raising his voice slightly to give an aura of authority. As he did so, he stopped leaning on the filing cabinet, stood up straight and walked over to Nikki, making her feel much smaller as he took his actual height into consideration.

Leo, on the other hand, continued sitting in his chair, unwilling to even attempt an intervention. It was a difficult case, after all, and in most situations like this, it always served best to get everything out, to be open. Besides, an intervention meant he wouldn't be able to stay neutral. If he sided with Nikki, Jenkins would accuse of him of being nepotistic. However, if he sided with Jenkins, Nikki would surely be offended for siding with him (and rightly so, too). So, he left well alone, and let their argument take its course.

"Maybe, just maybe, if you did your job right, we'd be able to find the killer," Jenkins yelled harshly.

"And maybe, just maybe, if you did your job right, Jasmine Yeats would still be alive!" Nikki cried bitterly, her words reverberating around Leo's office, slowly sinking in, and stunning the room into silence. Leo loudly exhaled the breath he had been holding, and a weary DCI Jenkins flopped onto the sofa, dejected.

"Right, this is becoming extremely counter-productive now. Shall we start from the top?" Leo sighed, glancing between Nikki and Jenkins.

"Sorry," Nikki whispered softly, holding out her hand to Jenkins, by way of a peace offering, a small reserved smile gracing her features.

"Me too," he murmured, shaking her hand as he cleared his throat.

"Right. So what do we know so far?" Leo asked, flicking through the PM report in front of him.

"Time of death was between 12am and 2am. No trace of food in her stomach, no alcohol found in her tox screen. Small amount of cocaine, we know she was a user, not enough to kill her. Heart was perfectly healthy, anyway. Cause of death, multiple stab wounds to the torso. Blood spatter patterns suggest a frenzied, almost psychotic attack, which is almostly certainly consistent with a random killer," Nikki rattled off, yawning in spite of the fact it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

"No signs of forced entry," Jenkins continued, "All windows locked, suggesting Jasmine Yeats knew her killer, and possibly let them in. Her parents are visiting the rest of the family in Auckland, which, of course, just leaves the sister. Imogen Yeats. No alibi, no-one to vouch for her, no CCTV pick up anywhere where she said she was between 12am and 2am on Tuesday night," Jenkins stated.

"And no blood spatter, most importantly. If she killed her sister, where is the blood? SOCOs found no fibres at the scene, or any discarded weapons or items of clothing. Imogen called the ambulance, and stayed on the line with the emergency services until the paramedics arrived, leaving her no time to stash a weapon that she supposedly had on her person five minutes previously!" Nikki said, getting a sense of deja vu, as she had already stated this crucial point several times.

"Yes, but-"

"Am I a good kisser?" Harry's voice suddenly entered the room, illicting a snort from Nikki, and much annoyance from Jenkins, who had been very rudely interrupted.

"I beg your pardon?" Leo asked, incredulous.

"Am I a good kisser?" Harry repeated, more earnestly this time.

"I take it the date didn't go so well then?" Nikki remarked, trying to sound sympathetic, and not at all amused nor relieved.

"Date? I thought you two were...well...you know," Jenkins added, his face the picture of confusion and slight shock. However, on seeing two blank faces staring back at him, he realised that they really were clueless. In more ways than one.

"I honestly don't know what happened. We were talking about insects and-"

"Hang on, insects? You were talking about insects on a first date? And you're concerned that how you kiss is the main problem here?" Leo responded in disbelief.

"Yes, insects. On the way home, actually. She got stung by a wasp, and we got talking about insects," Harry sighed, annoyed that his story was being interrupted, an annoyance that Jenkins could share only too well as the Jasmine Yeats case now seemed long forgotten.

"Careful, Harry, she could be the one," Nikki said in mock seriousness, causing Leo to smile.

"Anyway," Harry continued, clearing his throat for emphasis, "And she mentioned caterpillars, and I happened to mention that you liked butterflies-"

"Mistake number one," Jenkins butted in suddenly, joining the conversation, sharing a knowing look with Leo, leaving both Harry and Nikki extremely puzzled.

"And then I kissed her goodnight, et cetera, and she hasn't called yet," Harry rambled, wanting to finish his story without further questions.

"You went out with her yesterday! Whatever happened to the three day rule?" Leo sighed, to nobody in particular.

"Desperation is not a good look on you, Doctor Cunningham," Nikki continued to amuse herself, much to Harry's irritation.

"You still haven't answered my question," Harry sighed impatiently, "Am I a good kisser?"

"And you're asking us...why? You might get a more eloquent response if you ask someone you've actually kissed, Harry," Leo sighed exasperatedly, surprisingly eager now to discuss the Yeats case again.

"I am asking that someone. Nikki, am I asking a good kisser?" Harry questioned seriously.

"Wait, what?" Leo's head shot up from Jasmine Yeats' tox screen.

"Oh, this just gets better and better," Jenkins groaned under his breath, "Can we get back to Jasmine Yeats now?" he said, much louder this time.

"Hang on a minute. Nikki?" Harry asked, his face if nothing but genuine.

"From what I remember, you were alright," Nikki smiled half-heartedly, not wanting to inflate Harry's ego whilst with company. That would seem more desperate than Harry's concern about his date not calling him. Leo just glanced between Harry and Nikki, confused.

"From what you remember?" Harry cried, raising his voice several decibels, "Oh God."

"Oh, Harry, calm down," Nikki chided.

"No wonder she didn't call me. You don't even remember kissing me!"

"To be fair, I don't even remember you kissing her. When was this?" Leo asked curiously, wondering how he could have somehow possibly missed this.

"That's not important," Harry sighed, walking out of Leo's office. NIkki shrugged her shoulders as if to say "Later", to which Leo nodded his head curtly.

"Harry, you're overreacting. It was a first date," Nikki reassured him.

"You really don't remember kissing me?" Harry asked quietly, sitting down at his desk, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Look, Harry, it was a long time ago," Nikki tried to comfort him, following Harry to his desk, "And it's not like it even meant anything."

She brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen out of her loose ponytail, biting the skin around her nails whilst waiting from a response from Harry. A nod, a flicker, anything remotely showing emotion. Because watching him sit at his desk, his face void of any feeling, was the most heartbreaking visual.

"It didn't mean anything?" Harry inquired, suddenly looking up from his desk, a pained look on his face.

"You kissed me to shut me up, Harry. What else was I supposed to think you meant? What else was that kiss supposed to mean?" Nikki cried, trying to keep her voice steady.

"What was it supposed to mean? What do you think...it meant everything, Nikki. Everything," he cried loudly, stepping right into her personal space.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jenkins, not prepared for the soap opera unfolding in the next room, got up from the sofa, growing restless. As he went to close the door, in the hope of actually getting some work done, his actions were met by the most disapproving glare from Leo.

"What are you doing?" Leo hissed, trying to be discreet.

"Giving them some privacy?" Jenkins replied, more as a question than a statement.

"Not so fast. As their boss, I need to be kept up to speed for future reference," Leo said, hoping that he didn't seem as transparent as he thought he did.

* * *

"But of course," Harry continued, his voice now a whisper, as he was fully aware that both Leo and Jenkins were now blatantly eavesdropping, "You wouldn't see that, because you think I only kissed you to shut you up. Like you can't fathom another reason at all why I would possibly want to kiss you. And you can't even remember the kiss anyway, which by the way, wasn't 'alright', it was bloody brilliant, and-"

Harry's lips were silenced by the sudden force of Nikki's lips against his. Deepening the kiss instantly, he moaned into her mouth into her mouth as her fingers found their way into his hair. Eventually, the need for oxygen became too apparent, and just as suddenly as Nikki had initiated the kiss, she broke away from him.

The kiss brought memories flooding back of the last time he and Nikki had kissed. This time, however, it was him who was left with questions burning into his mind, swirling around like some kind of infinite whirlpool, never ceasing.

"Now he shuts up," Nikki whispered, her swollen lips still dangerously close to his.

"You remember?" Harry asked, his voice laced as much with relief as with hope.

"Mm-hm," Nikki replied vaguely, walking away from him, "Oh, and Harry?"

"Yeah?" he turned around, his breathing still slightly ragged.

"For the record, I don't think it was ever your ability to kiss that was in question," Nikki grinned, her cheeks still slightly flushed.

* * *

Harry smiled to himself, before looking up to see Leo and Jenkins staring at him.

"Oh, what?" Harry laughed, walking into Leo's office.

"Rookie mistake, that," Jenkins stated, "Mentioning another woman on a first date."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "You'd think I would have remembered, right?"

"No wonder she's giving you the cold shoulder," Jenkins said, "Being hung up on another woman and that. Women are like children if you ask me - they can tell when they're being ignored."

"Well, I didn't ask you, and I didn't ignore her! I was just..."

"Disinterested?" Leo offered, not very helpfully.

"Distracted."

"Ah, I see. Distracted by Nikki, then? Anything you want to tell me?" Leo asked nosily.

"Nope. I am going to make a coffee though," Harry deftly changed the subject, headed in the direction of Nikki, who he knew was in the kitchen.

"In the kitchen?" Leo replied quickly.

"Well, unless we've started putting the coffee cups behind the cistern to maximise cupboard space, then yes, I will be making coffee in the kitchen," Harry retorted, deadpan.

"Didn't Nikki just go into the kitchen?" Leo asked, feigning ignorance.

"Shut up," Harry said, walking out of the office.

"Ten pounds says you're married within the year!" Leo called down the corridor after him.

"Piss off," came Harry's expletive reply.

"Right," sighed Jenkins in relief, turning towards Leo, "Can we finally get back to Jasmine Yeats now?"

"Piss off."

* * *

**Once again, Happy Birthday Lizzi, and sorry this is monumentally late. Let's call it unforseen circumstances. **

**The opening bit about Jenkins and the Yeats case was originally meant to be much shorter, but somehow, my own case has managed to intrigue me. And Jenkins. So you may see them feature a bit more in other oneshots.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed Where I Want To Be and With This Ring - it means the absolute world!**

**As always, liked or loathed, please review :)**

**Love Ems xxx**


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